By Rebecca Kasuba, Staff Writer
Artist: The Lumineers
Album: Automatic
Favorite Songs: “Same Old Song,” “Better Day,” and “Plasticine”
For fans of: Mumford & Sons, Hozier, The Backseat Lovers
Let’s Slow It Down
Automatic is The Lumineers’ fifth studio album following Brightside and consists of 11 new songs, marking a momentous milestone for the band. Together, both Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites celebrate 20 years of songwriting together, embracing Automatic a part of this achievement.
Truly, this album is different from their other releases. To me, it seems as if Automatic is trying to slow us down during our listening journey. According to Schultz this album reflects some of the absurdities of our current modern world. Like the blurring of what is real and what is fake. Also, the ways we numb ourselves trying to combat both boredom and overstimulation in a world filled with screens. This album does a great job calling attention to these problems as The Lumineers give us exactly what we want from our listening experience.
SOS: Same Outstanding Songwriting
The first song of the album is one of the singles, “Same Old Song," and it gives us this upbeat drum to tap our foot along to. It tricks us into thinking that we’re starting off with something light and happy; The Lumineers flip this idea on its head as we slow down and listen to the lyrics of the song. The first two lyrics of the album are “Hey, Mama, would you pay my rent? Would you let me crash in your basement?”
Immediately, we are thrown off by this. They continue with “‘Cause any one of us could make it big, or could end up dead on the pavement.” The song continues with this morbid voice as they reflect upon life and its hardships. “Same Old Song," sets up the rest of this album with a sense of reflection and sadness. It’s almost ironic as they sing the melody, almost calling out the audience and the band for singing/listening to “the same old song, same sad song.”
The irony only deepens as the next song of the album is “Asshole." Another bitter-type song that seems to be reflecting upon a past relationship that seemed to fail. The song goes, “First we ever met, you thought I was an asshole, probably correct.” These lyrics seems like a trend for the slightly ironic and self-reflective tone. It seems as if the album wants you, the listener, to do the same as we continue through the album. It even gives you the chance to do so with the next song “Strings."
A 33-second break in the action as a symphony of stringed instruments (big surprise) crescendos then weakens as it transitions into the next song “Automatic.” This, to me, expresses the main message of the album. One that calls out the faults in our new modern world and how automatic our flawed way of living truly is. You’d think a song like this would be the last one on the album, but The Lumineers instead transitioned into one of my favorite songs on the album: “You’re All I Got.”
To me this song sets the pacing for the rest of the album, as we have come to our realizations and now are slowing down to truly live in the moment. Still, we have that emotional tone as “You’re All I Got” expresses this sense of love and longing. To me, this song is a love letter to the people that we care about and don’t want to lose.
“Plasticine” is the British word for modeling clay and it also is the sixth track of the album. This song represents how we can mold and shape ourselves into a person that people expect us to be. In our current world, we are so focused on shaping ourselves to be successful, we fail to see the true value that’s right in front of us. We cover up our pain and numb it away in order to please this false narrative.
Continuing The Connections
The Lumineers continue this sense of numbing the pain with the next song “Ativan.” Ativan is a sedative drug used to relieve anxiety and treat disorders such as epilepsy. In the lyrics they sing how “If I can’t make you happy nobody can…your sweet Ativan.” This song is a personification of the drug as if it is almost whispering in our ear, begging us to use it to numb the pain away. As listeners, we get a very personal deep dive into this drug and how it is connected to The Lumineers.
To me, it seems that “Keys on the Table” is a continuation of “You’re All I Got” but takes on a different form, even though they share some verses. Here we feel a sense of desperation and pleading as they continue to sing “Everyone knows, you’re all I got.” Even asking questions such as, “Would you sell me out at the first chance you get?” Which contrasts the loving sort of tone from “You’re All I Got,” showing an emotional complexity as the album explores deeper into these emotions.
Now, “Better Day” is probably my favorite song on this whole album. It truly encapsulates our current society in such a simple poetic way. In the song, The Lumineers reference political distress, social media, remorse, hope, and so much more. The song keeps it simple and this truly adds to the message, letting it speak for itself. I think this also translates into the whole album, flawlessly.
Speaking of transitions we have the next song “Sunflowers,” which is an emotional instrumental consisting mainly of piano and other string instruments. It’s the perfect set up for the final song of the album “So Long.” Here we have less of an acoustic sound, like the majority of the album, but something that feels more band-like. Making this final song stick out to me, as we wrap up the album. The lyrics also seem less straightforward, contrasting from the rest of the album which trended on simple poetics. Here we have complex metaphors and word play, truly showcasing how The Lumineers can do it all.
Automatic Banger
This album stands out in the way it composes its sound throughout. In Automatic, we have this mixing of great songwriting and amazing musical capabilities that create this listening experience. For me, what really stood out to me, sound wise, was the way the opening song (“Same Old Song”) and the closing song (“So Long”) both had this full band-like sound. Whereas the rest of the album felt slower and almost acoustic in some ways. I think this choice really enhances the simplicity of these songs and how The Lumineers experimented with their sound in emotional ways. To me, these choices of sound really caused me to listen and reflect on the middle part of the album. It made it hit harder and these contrasts made the album stronger for me.
So Long...
I’m sure we can all agree that we’re looking forward to another 20 years of songwriting from The Lumineers! So, if you haven’t already, please give this album a listen; I barely scratched the surface trying to dissect and appreciate this album. So long and happy listening…
